War Drums

Mangas Coloradas (Lex Barker), an Apache chief and white trader Luke Fargo (Ben Johnson) are bound by friendship and their mutual love for Riva (Joan Taylor), a Mexican-Native American girl rescued from horse thieves. Riva marries Mangas, who teaches her the warrior's ways and she later warns the Apaches of an ambush by white soldiers. When Fargo, who did not intend an attack, is injured, Riva helps him - a kindness he must choose whether or not to return when war with the Apaches erupts.

Judging by some of the reviews I read about this 1957 western you would think this is a below par western, but in my opinion it's a really good film with a sympathetic portrait of the Apaches. Here they are the ones clearly wronged, and it also depicts the clashes between Mexicans and Apaches in the beginning, which isn't always covered. It balances action, drama and conflict and even a bit of romance really well. Of course, it's not historically accurate, but I didn't expect it to be. If anything, with its colours and costumes, it looks like a comic strip, but the acting is far from juvenile- Lex Barker is really good as Mangas Colorado, giving him a human element as well as a warrior one, Joan Taylor as the Mexican who becomes his wife is given a refreshing role as a female warrior, but it's Ben Johnson who really adds some depth here as Mangas Colorado's friend. What I think was needed was a longer running time and more character developing, but I'm nitpicking. It's a really good western.

Smouldering senorita Joyce Taylor opts for a life in war paint & trousers kicking ass by the side of long-haired, blue-eyed Apache warrior Lex Barker (midway between Edgar Rice Burroughs & Karl May) in this pro-Indian De Luxe Color western set just before the Civil War which provides a bonus in the form of the presence of a still relatively young & fresh-faced Ben Johnson midway between John Ford & Sam Peckinpah.

I enjoyed this one despite the typical mistakes in actual history. It is set around 1860 and everyone on both sides has repeating rifles. The actual Mangus Colorado died a horrible death in 1863 at the hand of soldiers. However he was well over 60 when he died, not the strapping character portrayed in the movie.

I'll watch Ben Johnson in just about anything, and I just did. Though I've been a fan of Lex Barker's since his Tarzan days, in this he makes Ben Johnson look like Sir John Gielgud. This is possibly the worst Western I've ever seen, and I've spent my life studying them. This movie takes place in some weird Bizarro-Apache world, where the pseudo-word "Ayee!" is apparently the only word in the Apache language, because it's used for every possible meaning; where the tribe has a central camp, but the people blithely live in isolated single wikiup lodges apparently miles from each other, where the majority of the tribal folk have blue eyes, where Apache wedding gowns are apparently made by Laura Ashley, where a Mexican captive woman suddenly falls in love with her hated captor in the space of a two-minute fight scene, and where in about the same length of time she is transformed into a fierce warlike female co-chief in a beaded tank-top. There's not a moment of believable human behavior in the film. A handful of gold miners deep in Apache territory shoot a little Indian boy and let an Indian girl take him back to the tribe while they unconcernedly go back to panning for gold, despite the fact that even an idiot would know the entire tribe is going to show up in a few minutes looking for scalps...which is just what happens. A good drinking game would be to take a slug every time someone says, "Ayee!" or whenever someone does something stupidly and obviously against his own interests. It's also pretty convenient how often the heroes get devastating wounds yet ride off fairly comfortably after a little rest. Fortunately the photography is so drab and dim that it's hard always to be sure what's happening on screen--except in the day-for-night shots, which are sometimes brighter than the day-for-day shots! The only positive element of the entire film is some good stunt work and watching Ben Johnson gallop on horseback. That's always good to see. I hope he got a big paycheck for this one, though. At least it didn't have a title song.

Standard Indian Western dealing with a historical character the Apache leader Red Sleeves or Mangas Coloradas who along with Cochise and Jeronimo fought ferociously against the white men. This concerns Mangas Coloradas , Lex Barker , who takes a Mexican woman , Joan Taylor , from a man who mistreated her . Meanwhile , settlers and mean prospectors break the fragile peace . Mangas Coloradas has a good friend to Fargo : Ben Johnson, who equally falls in love for the Mexican Riva : Joan Taylor, then their friendship is hardly tested. While some settler assaults and Indian raids take place. As Red Sleeves and other Apaches execute uprising against invaders and raid miners, then President Abraham Lincoln transfers troops to Fort Sumter. It is is up to Fargo to avoid a bloody and long war. The deadliest thunder that ever rolled across the west !

This is a short budget film that eventually sustains some interest for quite a while , regarding the strong fighting between the Apache tribe , Mimbreños, with leader Mangas Coloradas against the USA Cavalry , being unaccurate historically the happenings developed in the movie . As it is a highly fictionalized account of Mangas Coloradas's life , paced in fits and starts. Trio starring : Lex Barker , Joan Taylor , Ben Johnson become involved into a triangular love story , being accompanied by a so-so support cast, such as : Richard Cutting , John Pickard , John Colicos , Larry Chance and brief appearance uncredited by recently deceased Stuart Whitman .

It contains an atmospheric cinematography by William Margulies , though being really necessary a perfect remastering because of the film copy is worn-out .And thrilling, evocative musical score by Lex Baxter , this composer was regular in Roger Corman films and Samuel Z Arkoff , James H Nicholson's American International Pictures . Being produced in little budget by Howard Koch for United Artists . The motion picture was middlingly directed by Reginald Le Borg . He was a craftsman who directed several films with no much success, such as : The eyes of Annie Jones, The Black Sleep, Sins of Jezabel, The Flanagan Boy , G.I. Jane , The Dalton girls, , Wyoming Mail , Troublemakers , Joe Palooka , Philo Vance , San Diego I love you , Destiny , Jungle woman ,Port Said , Fall Guy , being his big hit : Diary of a Madman with Vincent Price . He went on directing episodes of TV series as Bronco, Maverick, The Alaskans , Sugarfoot , Bourbon Street , Death Valley Days , Wire Service , among others . Rating 4.5/10 .Mediocre , a routine , run-of-the-mill Western with limited interest , only for Western hardcore aficionados .